Starting as a Grandmaster, all of my cultivation techniques are at max level.

"They're here!"

Qin Hu, whose gaze had been fixed ahead, suddenly felt a tightness in his chest. He instinctively straightened his back, quickly adjusted his clothes, and turned to the hundreds of Imperial Guards behind him, shouting in a low voice, "All of you, pay attention! Stand up straight! Anyone who displeases me will be in for a world of trouble when we get back!"

Just a few breaths later, the carriage stopped outside the city gate.

The eunuch Wei, who was driving the carriage, glanced at Qin Hu with a smile on his face: "Long time no see, Commander Qin. Your information network is quite good, waiting here so early in the morning."

Faced with Eunuch Wei's teasing, Qin Hu dared not be the slightest bit presumptuous and quickly stepped forward.

"I am here on His Majesty's orders to welcome the Prince back to the capital."

As he spoke, Qin Hu glanced at the tightly closed carriage curtain, "Is the Prince... inside?"

Wei Zhongxian's smile remained unchanged. He nodded and was about to speak—

"Little Wei Zi."

A calm voice came from inside the carriage.

"Why did it stop?"

Wei Zhongxian immediately suppressed his smile, turned to face the carriage, and lowered his head slightly: "Sir, Commander Qin is here to greet us on His Majesty's orders."

"...All this formality again." Xia Jin, sitting in the carriage, shook her head helplessly. "Alright, let's go straight to the palace."

"Yes," Wei Zhongxian replied.

Qin Hu, who had been listening intently, immediately replied, "Your Highness, this humble official will lead the way immediately! Let's go right away!"

He turned around and waved his hand, "Clear the way! Escort the Prince's carriage into the palace!"

"Here you go!"

Hundreds of Imperial Guards responded in unison, immediately dividing into two lines to protect the palace, with Qin Hu personally leading the way on horseback. Soon, the group sped off towards the imperial palace.

On the top floor of a three-story inn not far from the imperial road, a window facing the street was slightly ajar.

A pair of sinister eyes peered through the gap, looking down at the carriage Xia Jin was riding in.

"The Black Dragon Carriage..." Pei Wenhuan, the Left Envoy of the Ming Cult, turned grim, smashing his wine cup on the ground, spilling wine everywhere. "It really is him. Why, of all times..."

Beside him stood an old woman holding an ebony cane, her face still showing a hint of disapproval.

"Left Envoy Pei, you overestimate this man! This time, it was merely him returning to the capital alone. Now that our Holy Sect has joined forces with the White Lotus and Joyous Union sects, pooling the power of the three sects, do we really fear a mere Xia Jin?"

"Afraid of him alone?" Pei Zuoshi turned around, looking coldly at the other woman. "Granny Shang, you make it sound so easy! Although we weren't present at the battle atop Langya Mountain three years ago, haven't we heard the rumors?"

"That Grandmaster Ling Buyu, whose swordsmanship was unparalleled, what happened? He was slain on the mountain peak by Xia Jin alone with a single sword!!"

"Three years have passed. Who knows just how strong Xia Jin has become? Of the three sects, only our Ming Cult leader has reached the Grandmaster realm. But do you think our leader alone can stop him?"

"This..." Granny Shang's eyelids twitched. She was about to refute when she realized that what Left Envoy Pei said was indeed the truth.

He could only whisper, "...What a monster."

"That's enough." Pei Wenhuan walked to the table, poured himself another glass of wine, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Since the sect leader and the others are determined to take action against Great Xia, they must already have a plan to deal with Xia Jin. These are important matters that are none of our concern."

"Remember to give the order later," Pei Zuo Shi said, watching the carriage disappear from his sight. "Before the leader arrives in the capital, keep our people as quiet as possible. No one is allowed to make any rash moves without my permission."

"Especially those troublemakers, keep a close eye on them. At this time, if anyone dares to jump out and cause trouble... I'll clean house before Xia Jin even has a chance to act!"

......

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation in the Great Xia Imperial Palace,

Xia Yu was already waiting in the hall. Seeing Xia Jin step across the threshold, a smile immediately appeared on his face, and he quickly stepped forward to greet him: "Brother! You must be tired from your journey! I'm sorry to have disturbed your cultivation this time..."

"Hmph! Good thing you know!"

Xia Jin walked straight to a rosewood chair on the side and sat down, glaring fiercely at Xia Yu.

"If the matter you mentioned in your letter hadn't been so troublesome, I wouldn't have needed to make this trip. Qingzhou is a peaceful place for self-cultivation."

Xia Yu's smile froze slightly, then turned into a wry smile. He casually waved away the guards in the hall, leaving only Qin Hu and Eunuch Wei to wait at the door.

"Brother, please don't be offended. If it weren't for the Qingyun Sect's aggressive actions this time, coupled with the remnants of the Demonic Sect frequently causing trouble in the capital region, I wouldn't have dared to trouble you..."

"Don't you dare trouble yourself?" Xia Jin glanced at him and snorted coldly. "The Qingyun Sect is fine, but these remnants of the demonic sect, you, the Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty, can't even keep an eye on your own capital. You expect me to clean up your mess?"

These words were extremely impolite, even somewhat vulgar.

Upon hearing this, Qin Hu and Eunuch Wei, who were standing by with their hands at their sides, both twitched their eyelids. The two of them turned slightly to the side at the same time, looking down at each other.

In the entire Great Xia Dynasty, perhaps only this man dares to speak so frankly, even to the point of reprimanding, His Majesty.

Xia Yu was speechless, his face turning red and then white, but he dared not refute, only saying helplessly, "Brother is right... However, that demonic sect acts in a secretive manner. Although I sent the Embroidered Uniform Guard to do their best to capture them, there haven't been many results..."

"Alright, besides the Embroidered Uniform Guard, is that all you..." Xia Jin hadn't finished speaking when the system notification sounded in her mind again.

Ding! Keyword detected, triggering corresponding task. Please join the Embroidered Uniform Guard as soon as possible!

[Mission Reward: Divine Sense Probing (Beginner Level, Range 500 Meters), 20 Years of Cultivation.]

Xia Jin suddenly widened her eyes, a hint of suspicion in her expression.

The tasks issued by this system... could they require specific keywords to trigger? I think I was just talking about the Embroidered Uniform Guard...

"Big brother? Big brother!"

Seeing Xia Jin suddenly fall silent and stare blankly, Xia Yu waved his hand in front of his face.

Xia Jin regained her composure, her eyes refocusing, and waved her hand, "It's nothing!"

After a moment's thought, he followed up his previous line of thought and said to Xia Yu, "Go and get a Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) badge."

"Huh?" Xia Yu was taken aback and asked in confusion, "Brother, what do you need the Embroidered Uniform Guard badge for?"

Xia Jin glanced at him irritably and quickly made up a reason: "The Imperial Guards you've been training can't even wipe out the remnants of the Demonic Sect in the capital region. They're incompetent and utterly useless. Since I'm here in the capital, I'll give these guys a good workout and wipe out those rats in the gutter, so you won't have to worry about them all the time."

The word "useless" reached the ears of Qin Hu, who was standing by with his hands hanging down.

Qin Hu trembled almost imperceptibly, and a fine layer of cold sweat instantly seeped from his forehead. He inwardly groaned: Could the prince's words... be directed at me, the commander?